Sorbus tree

Hi,

my Sorbus tree looks as though it’s dying. Why might this be? It’s probably about 20 or so years old. We moved in 4 years ago.

 

This is it next to shed - May 2923.

 

It's doing very well for a 900 year old tree!

 

It looks as if your tree is going into early autumnal mode because of lack of water @Stanley63. Have you had much rain recently in your location? It is very close to the fence, shed and other items that will restrict rain falling to the base. Also, if your soil doesn't retain water well, this will not help either. I suggest clearing the area round the base of the tree, give it a good deep watering every three days or so and top the area with a mulch of organic matter to help to retain moisture. They grow best in areas with high rainfall, in moist but well draining soil.

 

thank you for the reply Plantminded.
Our garden has a lot of clay in it! It really holds the water when it rains. We have had rain recently, but overall it’s been really warm weather.
Hopefully it is doing what you said going into autumnal mode.

 

typo Katecat58, it was supposed to say photo from May 2023.

 

Whereabouts are you @Stanley63 ? It's perfectly normal for rowans further north of me to be in full autumnal mode at this time of year, with foliage colour and fruit.
Where I am it's usually a bit later this month for colouring to change, and fruits to ripen, but this year they've been in full fruit for a while, and that's because they started into growth very early due to the non winter. The foliage is just about starting to alter now though, so they're a bit out of synch.
In hotter areas, they can go into autumn shutdown because of stress from those hot, dry conditions.

 

It is a very old tree to move. With the prolonged drought conditions and gales rocking it about it may be on its way to tree heaven.
You can only wait and see, trying to water a tree of that size would mean huge quantities of water for an extended length of time.

 

@fairygirl thank you for the response. I’m in the north east- Stockton . It’s the first time we’ve seen the tree looking like this. Sadly we have also lost a few Acer trees and rhododendrons this year, which had been in the ground about a year. They were planted in a different part of the garden. We put those losses down to excess water in our very clay garden.

 

Yes - all of those shrubs/trees like plenty of moisture, but - they also need decent drainage.
Unamended clay doesn't provide that.
If you want to plant anything in clay, there needs to be some prep in the form of organic matter added, and that often takes a while to get a good result. It opens the clay up, and therefore improves drainage, which is vital in consistently wet parts of the country. It also does the opposite, and helps to retain moisture during long dry spells, which is very helpful in drier areas where the clay can crack. I live in one of the former types of area, and it's particularly important for autumn through winter. For the dry areas, the summer can be difficult with clay soil, and it can also mean trees rocking and becoming dislodged if they're larger, or top heavy.
The north east of England can often be drier [whch always surprises me ] but the recent years of hit and miss weather have affected trees which have been absolutely fine in preceding years. It can sometimes take a while for the damage to be apparent too, and certainly things like conifers can take a long time for that damage to appear, and by then it's too late to save them. Rowans are less problematic in that sense, especially the native ones, but it can happen. The amount of other planting nearby can also have an impact, and sometimes it can just tip plants over the edge.
It's difficult to know whether the tree will be ok, as we're not seeing everything around it etc, but it's possible that it'll be ok once it gets adequate moisture. They live a long time - 20 years is nothing, so I wouldn't write it off yet.
You can add some extra compost/leaf mould etc around it once it's moist, and do that every so often, which will benefit the soil anyway, and can make a difference to the general health of the tree and the soil. Leaf mould, in particular, is a great addition for anything 'woody', and is easy enough to make if you can access some fallen leaves in autumn. You'll get help with doing that if needed, but there's plenty of info on the web etc too

 

Hi @Stanley63

I live very close to you and my Sorbus "Apricot Queen" (that I planted less than a year ago) has the same symptoms as yours. I posted about it here and got useful advice, including from @fairygirl , whose depth of knowledge impresses me each time!

I was advised that it entered early dormancy, probably caused by insufficient watering. It really does think that it is in autumn, not only because of the leaves but also because of the beautiful berries

Since I got that advice about a month ago, I have been watering a lot more deeply. Obviously the discoloured leaves haven't turned back green, but I can see signs of little new leaves starting to emerge, which makes me hopeful that it will be OK.

 

Thank you @fairygirl for your detailed response, it is very much appreciated. I will certainly try your advice. Fingers crossed it’s ok and survives. Kindest regards.

 

Fingers crossed for you - and the tree @Stanley63 !

 

I have a friend who has a very heavy clay soil and given our last winters rainfall she's lost a good few plants. And now her garden is tinder dry.

The trouble with clay soil is it can get very very wet and can hold onto it for ages but when it does dry out it really does dry out rock hard, like concrete, and it takes a lot of water and or rain to rehydrate.

I think the tree will recover next year myself.